Pretty Green Eyes
by Faith Valconbridge
Summary: Harry is tired of fighting and is given a second chance at happiness, he knows he deserves it but some things are just too hard to accept. Like the fact he seems to have fallen desperately in love with Malfoy of all people.
1. Chapter 1

Harry was not having a good day, at all. He had been paired with Malfoy a few weeks ago in potions for the year's on-going projects and the guy was not easy to work with. He seemed to be squabbling with the Slytherin more and more and their argument were just petty and they both knew it. They had managed to resist actual fist fighting but it wasn't a brilliant situation; they just kind of stuck to heated words and nine times out of ten Harry left the classroom with a headache and in a foul mood.

The two had been paired by Snape in the first lesson of the year who had decided it was time for them to put aside their differences, suck it up and actually just stop fighting. They had gone to McGonagall to complain but it turned out she had been in on it too. When Snape found out, he might have had to threaten the use of Veritaserum on the two boys but they could neither confirm nor deny this as they were afraid it might find their way into their evening cocoa.

"Potter, what the hell is this? This is foxtail, we need foxroot, ROOT. Are you a first year? Being with those muggle lovers and muggle-borns is ruining that brain of yours. Of course it-" Malfoy rattled on to himself more than anyone else as he pulled out his potions kit and selected the correct knife to use.

"Malfoy, my mother was muggle-born and so is Hermione and they are amazing people. Do you have to argue and insult them constantly? You don't even believe in blood supremacy anymore! You make my blood boil!" Harry fumed back.

The two of them had made is twenty-five minutes into their lesson before they started fighting which was actually a new record but Harry knew it was nothing to be proud of. They were seemingly going to fail another potion; Snape was going to kill them. They had managed to be civil enough at the beginning to sort out who would play what role in their potion brewing. It was mutually decided Malfoy would do most of the practical work as he was seemingly the only person in the class who was there because he enjoyed the subject. Harry was to write all the notes and collect the ingredients which he had done wrong today, according to Malfoy anyway. Normally it was the blond git who made mistakes because he couldn't read Harry's illegible scrawl but seriously, that wasn't Harrys fault! He wasn't going to sit and practise calligraphy for Malfoy!

"—isn't up to scratch anyway. You barely scrape your way through school. You're more interested in breaking rules and pissing me off! –" Draco started sorting through the ingredients and shoved the foxtail to one side. Harry had got used to the fact he sorted the ingredients into the order of use most the time and liked to do all the dicing because Harry did it wonky. Harry started to turn on the heat on the cauldron; it went a little high because he wasn't concentrating properly. He soon fixed it though before Malfoy noticed and could complain about something else. He was such a ponse and his voice was seriously starting to grate away at Harry.

"Pissing you off? Pissing YOU off? Malfoy, you constantly go out of your way to torture me, every day. I would have thought you would be more mature seems we agreed to be! You're such a spoiled child, your parents—" Harry had now given up trying to adjust the temperature and ignored the cauldron completely, folding his arms moodily.

At the front of the class Snape was sat helping Dean Thomas who was confused with the potion, he rolled his eyes and let the boys get on with it, they would learn the hard way though turned in his chair to keep an eye on them.

"Now don't bring my parents into this Potter, they are good people—" Draco stopped cutting the boomslang and pointed the knife at Harry, threatening him.

"Oh, sure, Malfoy! We all know that the only reason that daddy still works at the Ministry because he bought his way back in—" He taunted as he grabbed the knife off the other boy and slammed in down the on the table angrily.

"He did not BUY his way in! I'll have you know he works hard! And at least my family has money; don't think nobody had noticed you wander around in those oversized hand-me-downs. Famous Harry Potter, poor as a Weasley—" He snarled back, voice getting louder and sounding more irritated by the second.

Everyone was mostly ignoring them; they were so used to this behaviour by now that even Snape had started tuning them out, convinced it wasn't going to progress to anything serious.

"Now you leave Ron out of this! He's a better man than you'll ever be!"

"Thanks mate," Ron nodded from across the room butting into their argument and attempting to stop them.

"And I'll have you know I have a fuck load of money! Unlike you who only has his daddies money—"

"I'll be inheriting that, peebrain!" The blonde yelled, frustrated.

"Ohh, creative! I didn't know we had gone back to being children!" Harry snapped. "Put in the powder." He said crossly, his voice quieting again as he tried to calm down. Draco fumed, his face falling into a scowl.

"Well you act like a child constantly! And why don't you put the powder in? You have hands!"

"Can you two shut up? You're BOTH like children." Hermione interrupted.

"SHUT UP!" They both yelled simultaneously turning away from each other to shout at the girl. Hermione shook her head, rolled her eyes and turned back around. "Professor, are you going to do anything about this? They're so distracting!"

Snape shrugged, "Potter, Malfoy, shut it." He ordered, glaring at them annoyed because he was trying to help poor Dean who was just not getting it.

"Hey, don't speak to her like that!" Harry carried on, ignoring Snape. The man shrugged at looked at Hermione as if to say, 'I tried'.

"You just did!" Draco scowled.

"I can! She's my friend!" Harry defended, shoving the foxtail powder into the cauldron in the heat of the moment. Both boys exchanged looks of dread.

"Um, Professor…" Malfoy said, trying to get his attention but Snape had had enough and was ignoring them. The blond started edging away from the cauldron slowly as it started to smoke, it started to shake and Draco grabbed Harry's arm in panic and yanked him backwards a second before the mixture turned an angry red and exploded.

Everyone in the class yelped at the bang and jumped away from Neville who was on the other side of the classroom before they realised it was Harry and Draco.

"Thanks guys." Neville muttered sarcastically but immediately went back to his potion, terrified that it would happen to him too.

Harry didn't dare to look at Malfoy because he knew that all he would hear was more insults and he didn't want to be yelled at for messing up the potion, he knew he fucked up and he didn't need to hear it. He just didn't want the disapproval from that idiot right now, the Slytherin really had a way to make him feel so small.

He shook Malfoy's hand off him gently from the crook of his elbow and stared at the floor humiliated yet again. Ouch, that boy had a hard grip. He didn't know why he had pulled him back, maybe it was an automatic reaction or had he actually wanted to help him? Either way he was grateful, he was sure the potion would have ended up on his face and he was blind enough as it is.

Snape was on them like a bat out of hell within seconds, furious. "You two imbeciles, I've had enough of you! Get to Pomfrey now! Out of my sight! You aren't the only people in this class and if anyone fails I'll be docking your grades too!" He cursed as he vanished the mess off them. "Ten points from Gryffindor and twenty from Slytherin!"

"That's not fair!" Malfoy complained before shutting his mouth when he looked at Snape's face.

Harry was so relieved that he wasn't hurt from the potion and then he had been excused from the class that he didn't even argue. He grabbed his bag and left, leaving Malfoy tidy up, the Professor might change his mind and give him detention. Yes, Snape was nicer now but that didn't mean he wouldn't make him put brains into jars. He didn't look back as he scuttled out of the classroom, trying to put as much distance between himself and that horrid class.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry was angry and he tried to walk off his frustration, he could feel tears welling in his eyes and he wiped them angrily refusing to let this get the better of him. He sighed and stopped walking, taking a minute to lean against the castle wall and think. He didn't see a point in going to the hospital wing, he felt just fine, annoyed but fine. He was just glad to be out of that classroom and away from Malfoy. He tried so hard to just put his head down and get on with his work but he always ended up fighting. He wasn't even sure why they argued so much, everyone had moved past rivalries since the end of the war, he felt so left behind. Malfoy just had a weird effect on him and he was growing tired of it.

Harry glanced at his watch, there was a good twenty minutes until his next lesson and it was way too early to be making his way there. He decided to hide out in the toilets so he made his way to the first floor to wash his hands, his arms still felt weird from where that option had touched it and it hurt a little from where Malfoy had pulled him back so abruptly.

He hung around pacing the length of the bathroom, arguing with himself in his head. He had thrown his bag on the floor in a huff as he got there and was sure he was away from prying eyes. He had wanted this year to be normal, to be happy. Harry wanted nothing more than to get on with his life and move on from what had happened over the past seven years.

Since the war had ended everything had changed. They were missing friends and the castle was still being rebuilt and the magic was a little confused sometimes but everyone was just grateful for what they had. Sometimes they would go quiet when everyone remembered that Lavender wouldn't be joining them for breakfast or when Andromeda and Narcissa visited to let Harry and Draco see baby Teddy. The two women had made amends after everything had happened and managed to bond over the new life created in the midst of the war.

After the battle had calmed and they were bringing up the casualties Harry felt like it was his responsibility to go and collect Snape's body, he owed it to him. He had cried when he realised the man was alive, a weak pulse fluttering and he had begged and clung to him as he was rushed to St. Mungos where he sadly slipped into a coma. Everyone thought Harry was a bit crazy for a while until the man's story had come to light; by the time Snape had woken from his sleep in the hospital he was famous throughout the wizarding world and he had been dubbed The Man Who Sacrificed Everything, this had been the name of the book published in his honour.

Harry had held a press conference at Hogwarts with Hermione, Ron, Luna, Neville and Ginny a few weeks after everything had happened to clear up the truth. He told them EVERYTHING and with the back-up of veritaserum, the broken horcruxes, Snape's tears, a few displays of patronus they had believed him. People had come worldwide to hear the story of the fallen Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter, and though it hadn't been what they expected there had been tears and prayers and the Wizarding Society knitted together closer than they been. Arthur Weasley was made Minister of Magic under recommendation of Harry and the Order of Phoenix was set up as a side department of Aurors to collect and imprison the remaining deatheaters.

At Hogwarts there were big changes, there was even talk of undoing the housing system by the school board but in the end they stuck with tradition. They had to add an extended year program so last year's seventh years could redo their NEWTs if they wanted to, making eight years to teach. Not everyone came back and the year was only about twenty people so they did all of their classes together. Everyone had an option to redo last year's work so there was many mixed classes, new teaching assistants and after school revision classes. And to the dismay of the students an extra lesson had been added at the end of the day, instead of classes being one hour and fifteen minutes and there being five a day, there were now all one hour and there were six classes a day. McGonagall was made Headmistress of Hogwarts again and Snape Deputy Head by popular demand, they had agreed it would be batter to swap houses to the surprise of the students. Snape loved being the head of Gryffindor and was happy he didn't have to hide behind a Façade anymore, he could be whoever he wanted now and he was much happier. McGonagall was much stricter with the Slytherins and kept them well inline. Everything had seemed to have changed for the better.

The Malfoy's had scraped not being prisoned for life due to Narcissa's help when Harry had been in the forest. Malfoy Senior had served a few months but Harry knew he had learned his lesson and had realised his family was more important so he had put in a good word in court. And Draco had of course threw Harry his wand in battle when he realised the other boy was alive, everyone had seen that he had left himself defenceless so Harry could fight Voldemort and it had went good for him when he was took to trail. The Malfoys had lost a good chunk of their fortune in fines but they just seemed happy to be able to spend their lives together and they had changed as a family using their money for good instead of selfish reasons.

Because of this, him and Malfoy had spoken at the beginning of the year and called truce, promising they would both try and put things behind them. Malfoy had offered Harry money as thanks for what he had done for the family but Harry had shook his head and told him he would just prefer to have a quiet year. They were civil when the ladies bought Teddy in but as soon as they were alone they started squabbling again. Some habits just died hard. Why did Malfoy insist on arguing with him? He wanted them to get on like everyone else; this wouldn't have happened today, he wouldn't be hiding in the bathroom and he would probably have a decent potions grade.

Sometimes, though he would never admit it out loud to anyone, he wished him and Malfoy could be friends. Everyone in the year was friends now! He could admit (in his head) that he was likable enough, if you ignored all the petty insults and the general childishness, though to be honest he and Ron weren't the most mature bunch in the year. He just wanted to get on with him. Somehow, he knew this wouldn't be happening anytime soon. He picked up his bag and made his way down to the Charms corridor trying not to think about the fact that the class was also with the Slytherin again.

It turned out that Charms was not that bad because they were just doing some theory work so they were researching from textbooks. He sat with Hermione and Seamus on either side of him but Malfoy was behind him and he could feel the boy staring at him, it made him a bit uncomfortable but he didn't want another argument today. He hoped he wasn't still annoyed about the potion.

"Harry, I'm really worried about you, what's going on with you and Malfoy?" Hermione whispered, the noise level in the room was quite high but she knew Harry was quite a private person and she didn't want anyone to overhear them.

"Nothing, it's fine, Hermione. I don't know why we keep fighting, I'm tired of it to be honest." Harry muttered back, he didn't want to talk about it but he knew Hermione wouldn't back off. He didn't look up from the quote he was copying and tried to concentrate knowing he wasn't going to get very far but trying anyway. He had promised himself that he would get better grades this year, it was his last chance after all.

"Maybe you two need to talk? I know it's none of my business but maybe you two need to just get a few things off your chests, you're never going to get on if you have all this tension around you all the time." She answered, looking at him sincerely.

"Tension?" He asked surprised. "What do you mean tension?" Should he be concerned about this? Why did Hermione think there was tension?

"Well, you know." She said, shrugging and going back to her work.

"No, I don't know." Hermione stared at him unbelieving and grinned. "Just talk to him, okay?" Harry glimpsed behind him to look at Malfoy and smiled politely at the boy who was already staring at him. Malfoy blushed and looked down at the desk.

"Okay," Harry agreed as he turned back around. "I'm studying tonight in the library with him."

"Well, you really should talk to him tonight then because it's just a bit silly Harry, you and Draco are the only two people in the building that don't get on. Professor Snape gets on with Gryffindors now; if he can do that then you can stop yelling at Malfoy."

Harry thought about what Hermione had said and was a bit confused as to what she meant. Were they the only people still fighting in Hogwarts? He was so used to the house wars and the bullying that went on that it was completely unbelievable to think that they were the only two. It was a bit unrealistic. It did make him feel really childish though. Like he was thinking earlier he would love to put aside his differences with Malfoy.

It was normal for them to meet in the libraries on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays as that's when they had potions. They needed to summarise the potion they had made, write how successful it was and how they can improve. Today they failed so they would have to set up another day to redo the potion. Charms was the last lesson of the day so there was four hours until he needed to meet Malfoy. Normally he would be happy to be at the end of the day but he really wasn't. This thing with Malfoy was really bothering him and he didn't want to have to wait until seven o'clock. Maybe he should go have a lay down?

He spend the last fifteen minutes or so checking his watch and counting down to three-thirty desperately, waiting for the final bell. When it came everyone leapt to their feet but Harry took his time tidying up and hoping to catch Malfoy.

"Are you coming, Harry?" Hermione asked him looking slightly concerned for her friend still. He shook his head no.

"There's something I need to sort out." He whispered, looking towards Malfoy behind him who was still writing.

"Don't get into any more fights!" She warned looking him steadily in the eye. "I'll see you later, me and Ron are going to the tower."

"Okay, I won't be long, I just... Yeah." He was a little lost for words, unsure of how to really explain to Hermione that he was upset that Malfoy wasn't his friend. Surely he would think she had got mad. All this stuff with Malfoy was just making him feel strange, like he didn't know who he was anymore. Since when had he ever needed approval from Malfoy? This felt like sixth year all over again, was he becoming obsessed with Draco Malfoy again?

He was so deep in thought that he jumped when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. "Oh!" He squeaked and turned around; he looked up into the blue eyes of just the man he was thinking about.

"I'm sorry." He said, holding up his hands in surrender. "I just wanted to say sorry, for earlier." He looked awkward as he spoke and then even more awkward because Harry was just staring at him. He quickly snapped out of it.

"Oh, it's okay, I'm sorry too." He couldn't believe Malfoy had just apologised to him. Had he read his mind? "I actually wanted to talk to you. Could we meet earlier tonight? So we can sort a few things out. Nothing bad, I just think it would be sensible to talk about a few things." Harry said uncertainly, unsure how he was going to react. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine, Potter. I was actually going to suggest something similar myself, I don't think we should keep using the library, we need some privacy, you could come study in my room?" He suggested.

"Harry's eyebrows rose in surprise "T-to your room?" Harry sometimes forgot that Malfoy was the only Slytherin eighth year.

"Well, I just thought it would be quieter, seems I have no roommates?"

"Brilliant, so after tea I'll wait for you and we'll walk to your dorm?" Harry asked, happy they were at least getting somewhere.


End file.
